On 5 October 2026, Professor Jonathon Taylor, leader of the Urban Physics Research Group at Tampere University, delivered his inaugural lecture as part of the final seminar of the Sustainable Transformation of Urban Environments (STUE) research community. Held at Juhlasali, Tampere University’s Main Building, the event brought together researchers, colleagues, and collaborators to celebrate achievements in urban sustainability research and look towards the future.
Jonathon was appointed Professor of Urban Physics on 1 June 2026. His inaugural lecture marked an important milestone in a career dedicated to understanding how the environments we build shape our health, well-being, and ability to respond to a changing climate.
For those of us at Urban Physics, however, this occasion meant much more than celebrating a new academic title.
Advancing research that matters
Throughout his career, Jon has worked at the intersection of building physics, environmental science, public health, and urban sustainability. His research addresses questions that are both scientifically challenging and deeply relevant to everyday life: How can we protect people from extreme heat and cold? How do housing conditions influence health? How can cities become healthier, more energy-efficient, and better prepared for climate change?
These questions are central to the work of our research group. Under Jon’s leadership, Urban Physics has brought together different scientific perspectives and methodological approaches, from building simulations and environmental monitoring to geographical information systems, population health, and data-driven urban modelling.
What makes this work particularly valuable is the recognition that cities are not simply collections of buildings, infrastructure, and physical processes. They are places where people live, work, grow, and age. Understanding urban environments therefore requires us to look beyond individual disciplines and consider the people whose lives our research ultimately seeks to improve.
This broader perspective has been fundamental to Jonathon’s approach to research and collaboration.
More than a professor: A leader who brings people together
A successful research group is not built through publications, projects, and funding alone. It is built through people, their ideas, their willingness to collaborate, and the environment in which they work.
This is perhaps where Jon’s contribution has been most meaningful to us.
One of his greatest strengths is his ability to bring together people with different backgrounds, expertise, and ways of thinking, and help them find common ground. He understands that good research often begins with a conversation between people who would not otherwise have worked together.
Just as importantly, Jon has helped foster a research environment in which people feel encouraged to contribute, explore new ideas, ask questions, and develop their own scientific interests. His openness to different perspectives and his genuine enthusiasm for research have helped shape the culture of our group.
Academic research can be demanding. Behind every publication, research proposal, and successful project are countless discussions, uncertainties, revisions, and challenges. Having a leader who recognises both the scientific and human sides of this work makes an enormous difference.
We at Urban Physics cannot thank Jonathon enough for his leadership, encouragement, and the trust he places in the people around him. His willingness to support others, create opportunities for collaboration, and bring colleagues together has made Urban Physics more than a collection of individual researchers. It has helped make us a team with a shared purpose.
Building connections beyond Urban Physics
Jon’s commitment to collaboration extends well beyond our research group.
As the Director of the Tampere Urban Research Network for Sustainability (TURNS), he also contributes to connecting researchers across disciplines and faculties, creating opportunities to approach urban sustainability challenges from different perspectives.
The STUE Final Seminar was a particularly fitting setting for his inaugural lecture. STUE has played an important role in strengthening interdisciplinary urban research at Tampere University, and its concluding event brought together researchers working on the social, environmental, and physical dimensions of urban transformation.
Alongside Jonathon, Professors Päivi Kymäläinen and Helena Leino delivered keynote lectures, followed by discussions on urban challenges and the importance of continued collaboration.
While the event marked the conclusion of STUE as a research initiative, it also highlighted the importance of maintaining and strengthening the relationships, research networks, and shared ambitions that have emerged from it.
Jonathon, thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for Urban Physics. Thank you for your encouragement, your openness, your belief in collaboration, and for helping build a research group that we are proud to be part of.
We are delighted to celebrate this milestone with you and look forward to the research, discoveries, and collaborations still ahead.
Congratulations, Professor Jonathon Taylor!
With appreciation and warm congratulations,
The Urban Physics Research Group
Learn more about Professor Jonathon Taylor and his research and the STUE Final Seminar.